The present invention provides apparatus for the inline abrasive cleaning and polishing of metal wire and the like, fabricated in cold drawing or cold rolling operations.
Lubricants, lubricant carriers, and other substances utilized in cold drawing and cold rolling of metal normally produce residues, the removal of which is usually necessary before the product can be employed for ultimate purposes. It is conventional to utilize solvent-, steam-, electrolytic- or acid-degreasing techniques to effect the removal of such residues, but such techniques are often inconvenient, expensive and relatively inefficient; moreover, waste streams produced will generally necessitate further processing, and may give rise to disposal requirements that are difficult and expensive to satisfy.
Jones U.S. Pat. No. 1,265,339 employs stationary, emery paper-covered cleaning blocks, mounted in face-to-face relationship and spring loaded to bear upon the opposite sides of a steel tape drawn between them.
Mascuch U.S. Pat. No. 1,728,622 utilizes confronting pairs of abrasive wheels spaced from one another, on mutually perpendicular axes, along the path of movement of the bar being ground.
Sharlow U.S. Pat. No. 2,275,563, issued Mar. 10, 1942, discloses apparatus that employs confronting, oppositely disposed rollers for straightening wire and for disintegrating surface deposits; applied solvent is removed by a rubber element in a wiping gland.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,320,173 to Cotton and 3,780,552 to Staskiewicz et al both show two pairs of confronting elements spaced from one another along, and disposed on mutually perpendicular axes relative to, the workpiece travel path.
Illmer et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,329,376 (a continuation of No. 2,284,904) discloses a wire-making process utilizing an arrangement (shown in most detail in FIGS. 4 and 5) for abrasively cleaning and polishing the wire in-line. The cleaning mechanism consists of pairs of confronting jaws, over which abrasive-coated strips are slowly advanced in contact with the moving wire, under fluid pressure applied to one of the jaws. It employs multiple pairs of axially spaced jaws, arranged at different orientations about the axis of the wire so as to abrade and polish the entire profile..
Talley U.S. Pat. No. 3,117,401 provides apparatus that incorporates abrasive blocks for polishing and finishing a concrete column; substantially rectangular blocks are preferred.
In accordance with Nakamura et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,489, issued Nov. 14, 1972, a set of three offset and canted wire brushing wheels are employed for mechanically removing scale from hot rolled wire material.
Breckle U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,815, issued Aug. 24, 1976, utilizes a pair of abrasive-surfaced, resilient pneumatic drums for cleaning rod stock; the drums rotate about their own axes, as well as orbiting the axis of the rod.
Pairs of biased brushes are employed in the machine of Speafico U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,449, issued Sep. 1, 1981, for cleaning Wires; the brushes of each pair are axially offset from one another, With sequential pairs operating in horizontal and vertical planes.
Kawamura et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,016, issued Jul. 5, 1983, provides degreasing apparatus for rod stock, which utilizes at least one pair of rotating brushes for surface cleaning; the brushes are disposed in direct opposition, on an axis perpendicular to that of the wire.
Despite the activity in the art indicated by the foregoing, a need remains for a relatively simple and inexpensive apparatus and system for the abrasive cleaning and polishing of metal wire and the like, which apparatus and system are suitable for in-line use with cold-drawing and cold-rolling operations, and present only a minor amount of restriction to movement while maintaining constant levels of cleaning and polishing efficiency. Accordingly, the broad objects of the present invention are to provide a novel and practical apparatus having the foregoing features and advantages, and to provide a novel system incorporating the same.
More specific objects of the invention are to provide such an apparatus in which the buffers utilized can be precisely and easily adjusted, in which the usable life of the buffer elements can readily and substantially be extended, and which may be a self-contained device adapted for ready installation into a system for the production of wire and other continuous-length workpieces.